Plug receptacle and connector assembly



April 12, 1966 J. A. MAS ET AL 3,246,282

PLUG RECEPTAGLE AND CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 22, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS M25524 A M45 April 12, 1966 J. A. MAS ETAL PLUGRECEPTACLE AND CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 22, 1963INVENTORS 3,246,282 PLUG RECEPTACLE AND CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY Joseph A.Mas, Woodbury, and Melvin F. Walker, Deer Park, N.Y., assignors toDynamic Instrument Corporation, a corporation of New York Filed Jan. 22,1963, Ser. No. 253,168 1 Claim. (Cl. 339176) This invention relates toelectrical connectors and more specifically to a novel and improved plugreceptacle and connector assembly that is particularly useful in a widevariety of electrical and electronic applications.

While it will become apparent that the novel and improved plugreceptacle and connector assembly have a wide variety of applications,it has been found particularly useful in connection with portablebattery operated radios for the attachment of an external source ofenergy to the batteries when in place in the equipment to provideadditional power for operation of the device as well as for charging thebattery.

Accordingly, it is one object of the invention to provide a novel andimproved connector assembly that may be readily installed in a widevariety of battery operated devices for supplying an external source ofenergy thereto.

Another object of the invention resides in a novel and improved plugreceptacle that is characterized by its simplicity, ruggedness andrelatively low cost.

Another object of the invention resides in a novel and improved plugreceptacle that may be readily fabricated in awide variety of sizes andwhich is further characterized by its relatively light weight anddurability.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a noveland improved battery connector for mak- ;ing firm and dependable contactwith batteries while the latter are connected with a device to beoperated thereby,

such connectors facilitating the connection of an auxiliary device suchas a battery charger, a battery voltage indicator, an auxiliary load andthe like.

The above and other objects will become more apparent from the followingdescription and accompanyin drawings forming part of this application.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a greatly enlarged exploded perspective view of a plug typereceptacle in accordance with the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled connector shown inFIG. 1 and taken along the line 22 improved battery connector inaccordance with the invention.

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. "6 taken along the line 7-7thereof.

FIGURE 8 is a front elevational view of a connector identical to thatillustrated in FIG. 6 but with a portion removed to facilitateattachment of a connector to a modified battery.

FIGURE 9 is a side elevational view of a conventional United StatesPatent so-called dry cell retained between spring clipsand with thebattery connectors in accordance with the invention in position betweenthe battery and the spring clips.

FIGURE 10 shows the application of a battery clip in accordance with theinvention to a modified 'form of battery and associated connector.

FIGURE 11 is a cross-sectional view of the battery and connectorassembly of FIG. 10 taken along the line 1111 thereof.

Referring now to the drawings, a plug receptacle 10 in accordance withthe invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 and comprises four separateelements, namely, "a tubular member 11, a surrounding sleeve 12 andresilient 'electri'cal connectors 13 and 14. .The tubular member dricaland has a cylindrical opening 15 extending therethrough. The tube isfurther provided with two pairs of diametrically opposing slots 16, 16'and 17, 17' which intersect the central opening 15 as illustrated inFIGS. 1, 3 and- 4. I

The topside of the body as shown in FIG. 1 is recessed at 18 toaccommodate the connector 13 and has a longitudinal g'roove'19 toreceive the lead wire 20. The bottom side of the body is similarlyrecessed at 21 to join the slots 17 and 17' and accommodate theconnector 14. A second longitudinal groove 22 is formedin the undersideof the body and accommodates the second lead Wire 23. The clips orconnectors 13 and 14 are identical and are preferably fabricated out ofa spring material such as phosphor bronze or the like. Each clip is inthe form of a U having a transverse wall 24 which in this embodiment ofthe invention has a curvature corresponding to the curvature of the baseof the recess 18 or 21 as the case may be. The legs 25 and 26of eachclip are essentially straight, and the distance between these legscorresponds to the thickness of the tubular body 11 remaining betweenthe slots 16, 16' and 17, 17'. The bottom ends 25' and 26' of the legs25 and 26 are curved outwardly to facilitate engagement of the clipswith their respective slots.

The depth of the recesses 18 and 21 is adjusted so that it is slightlyless than the combined thicknesses of the transverse wall 24 of the clipand the wire 20', 23' forming part of the conductors 20, 23.

The sleeve 12 which is preferably formed of insulating material has arelatively thin cylindrical wall 27 and a single closed end wall 28, thelatter having an opening 29 centrally disposed therein. The totalinternal depth of the sleeve 12 is slightly greater than the length ofthe tubular member 11 which is formed of insulating material and thethickness of the wires 20 and 23. The internal diameter of the sleeve 12is substantially equal to the external diameter of the tube 11 so that afirm engagement will be effected between the sleeve and tube when thetube is forced into the sleeve as illustrated in FIG. 2.

In assembly of this receptacle 10, the lead wires 20 and 23, which maybe twisted, are inserted through the opening 29 in the sleeve 12-, andthe stripped end portions of the lead wires 20 and 23 are positioned inthe base of the recesses 18 and 21. The insulated portions of the leadwires 20 and 23 lie within thegrooves 19 and 22. The clips 13 and 14 arethen placed in position as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and the resilience ofthe clips will secure them in place. The sleeve 12 is then moved intoengagement with the tube and in so doing will form a tight "pressureconnection between each clip and its associated lead wire and willprevent the lead wires from being pulled from engagement with theirrespective clips. Furthermore, the lead wires 20 and 23 curve sharplyabout the inner end of the tube 11 as shown in FIG. 2, and the pressureof the tube 11 against the lead wires firmly secures them in position inthe connector.

If desired, a suitable cement may be utilized to cement the tube 11within the sleeve 12, and furthermore, in certain applications, it maybe desirable to solder the stripped portions 20 and 23' of the leadwires to their respective connectors.

The cooperation of the improved receptacle described above with theconventional phone plug is shown in FlGS. 2 and 5. The phone plugincludes a body portion 30 to which lead wires 31 and 32 are attached. Arelatively thin cylindrical sleeve 33 of conductive material extendsfrom the body 30, and a tip 34 is carried in insulating relationship tothe sleeve 33. The lead wires 31 and 32 are connected respectively tothe sleeve and tip connections 33 and 34. When this plug is inserted inthe connector 10, the sleeve engages the spring clip 14 while the tip 34engages the spring clip 13. It will be observed that the tip 34 isprovided with a narrow neck portion 34' and the forward portion of thetip is generally rounded. By properly positioning the slots 16 and 16'relative to the outer end of the tube 11, the tip 34 of the plug 30 willmove slightly beyond the inner edge of the clip 13 so that the inneredge of that clip will engage the rearwardly curved portion of the tip34 which forms part of the narrow'neck 34'. In this way, the plug 30will be retained in position in the receptacle 10 with the clip 13engaging the tip 34 and the clip 14 engaging the sleeve 33.

The receptacle 10 as described above may be used to considerableadvantage in connection with an improved connector assembly for makingconnection to a battery contained within a battery operated device suchas a portable radio and the like, for supplying an external source ofpower to operate the device and also to maintain the charge on thebattery. This improved cable assembly is shown in FIG. and is generallydenoted by the numeral 40. This cable assembly includes the plugreceptacle 10, the leads 20 and 23 and a pair of novel and improvedbattery connectors 41. V

The improved connector 41 in accordance with the invention is shown inFIG. 6 and comprises a flat body part 42 of a suitable conductivematerial such as brass, Phosphor bronze and the like, it beingpreferable to use a material which will afford some degree ofresiliency. The top edge 43 is curved over and upon itself to receiveone end of a lead wire and is then rolled tightly as indicated at 43 inFIGS. 5 and 9 to firmly hold the wire therein. If desired, the top edge43 may be rolled as shown at 43 and then the connecting lead soldered inplace. The central portion of the plate 42 has a circular dished portion44 which is partially severed from the plate 42. This partial severanceis accomplished by the formation of inclined slots 45 extending from thebottom edge of the body 42 as shown in FIG. 6 and inclined upwardly andinwardly to the periphery of the dished portion 44. These slots may beexceedingly narrow and may consist merely of slits through the material.A pair of oblong openings 46 are formed in the body and extend from theupper quadrants of the dished portion 44 and slope upwardly andoutwardly as shown in FIG. 6. The outer edges 46' are in closely spacedrelationship to the side edges of the body 42 and the periphery of thedished portion 44 between the inner edge of each slit 45 and theintersection of the openings 46 are partially or completely cut asindicated at 47. The peripheral portion 48 of the dished part 44 whichextends between the openings 46 is scored to facilitate removal of thedished portion 44 together with the body part 42' which is formedintegrally with the dished portion 44.

When the clip 41 is utilized for connection to a cylindrical batteryhaving terminals at opposing ends as shown in FIG. 9, the dished portion44 remains in position as shown in FIG. 6. Such a cylindrical battery,which is denoted by the numeral 49 in FIG. 9, would normally be heldbetween spring clips 50 and 51, these clips having leads 52 and 53secured thereto for connection to a device for operation by the battery.The base 54 of such a conventional battery 49 has an indented portionfor cooperation with a shallow boss 55 on the contact 50 which securesthe base of the battery 49 in engagement with the contact 50. Thepositive terminal 56 of the battery 49 has a boss 57 on the outersurface thereof which engages a corresponding indent on the cooperatingcontact 51 to effect engagement of the battery with the contact 51. Whenutilizing the clips 41 with the battery as shown in FIG. 9, the dishedportion 44 of the clip engages both the indent on the base 54 of thebattery and the boss 55 on the contact 50. The second clip similarlyengages the boss 57 on the positive terminal of the battery and theindent 58 on the clip 51. In this way, the clips 41 are held inengagement with the battery and with the contacts 50 and 51.

In the case of batteries, such as the battery 59 shown in FIGS. 10 and11, a dual terminal spring clip 60 is provided for attaching leads tothe battery. The spring clip includes an elongated insulating member 61and a pair of terminals 62 and 64. Terminal 62 cooperates with a femalespring terminal 63 on the battery 59 while terminal 64, which isidentical to the terminal 63 on the battery, cooperates with acylindrical terminal 65 of the battery. In this way, the clip 60, can beplaced in engagement with the battery in only one polarity and leads 66and 67 are used to connect the battery to the device being powered. Whenutilizing the cable assembly 40 shown in FIG. 5 with a battery as shownin FIGS. 10 and 11, the dished portion 44 of each clip is removed asshown, for instance, in FIG. 8, and the narrowed portions A and A of theclip permit the legs B to spring outwardly. With this arrangement, eachclip 41 can be moved into engagement with the spring clips 63 and 64 toconnect the receptacle 10 with the battery. I From the foregoing, it isevident that the clip 41 can be used with a wide variety of batteriesincluding all sizes of cylindrical batteries and with many differentsizes of spring clips-as described in connection with FIGS.-l0 and 11.If desired, the legs B as shown in FIG. 8 can be sprung outwardly toaccommodate slightly larger clips or in the alternative, can be bentinwardly to accommodate smaller clips.

While only certain embodiments of this invention have been illustratedand described, it is evident that alterations, changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the true scope andspirit thereof asdefined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

An electrical receptacle comprising an elongated tube of insulatingmaterial having an opening extending therethrough, said tube includingat least two spaced sets of slots with each set having two diametricallyopposed and aligned slots intersecting said opening with the bottoms ofsaid slots being in substantially spaced parallel planes, the surfaceportion of said tube between said planes being slightly recessed, aresilient U-shaped electrical connector engaging each set of slots witha portion of each connector lying in said recessed portion, a pair ofgrooves in the surface of said tube with one groove extending from onerecessed portion to one end of said tube and the other groove extendingfrom the other recessed portion to said one end of said tube, lead wiresconnected to said electrical connectors and disposed in said grooves, asingle open-ended sleeve surrounding said tube, the closed end of saidsleeve overlying said one end of said tube and having an opening throughwhich said lead wires extend, said sleeve locking said electricalconnectors in position on said tube and securing the lead wires thereto.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Angell 339-183Stratton 339-150 Ziemianin 339-183 Bird 339-183 Bender 39---108 Pahl33931 Clewes 339183 X JOSEPH D. SEERS, Primary Examiner.

